Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES - PS2 - Review

There was a time when RPGs evoked emotion.
Serious emotion, the kind that fueled blogs, magazines, and message boards.
Grown gamers openly weeping, while today’s RPGs make me wish I was sleeping.
It’s been a big change that no doubt stems from the reduction of developers
(Working Designs is no more, Square and Enix became one entity, etc.).

Persona 3 was one of the few games that
captured the essence of the PSone style of RPG development – story first,
gameplay second. The semi-automatic battle system brought it down a few
notches, but the character-driven storyline and above average voice acting
set the stage for something great. Usually that something has to wait for a
sequel. But you won’t have to wait for Persona 4 to find out what happens
next. Persona 3: FES, an upgraded version of the original, comes packed with
an all-new journey that continues the last game’s gripping saga.

Because of the last game’s history, the
emotional impact of the new quest (titled “The Answer”) is immediately
apparent. Each character is dealing with a terrible loss, the identity of
which will not be revealed in this review. If you played through the first
quest (re-titled “The Journey” in this upgrade), then the outcome is no
secret. Those of you who have yet to get your personified fix, however,
should be aware that any part of this review could you lead you to the
game’s revelations. The Answer features a new lead character, and in
mentioning her and some of the other cast members, you will likely figure
out who’s missing from the second chapter.

"What do YOU think is behind
this door? Come 'on, let's make a deal!"

Questions No More

Taking place after the events of the first
quest, The Answer begins when another incident occurs. As an unknown force
prevents the gang from leaving their dorm, Aigis must lead the crew – Junpei,
Yukari, and newcomer Metis (as well as supporting characters Ken, Fuuka,
Mitsuru, and Akihiko) – into battle.

The battle system remains faithful to the
original. With Aigis in charge, you’ll control her as the main character.
Once again, additional party members are treated as weapons on autopilot.
You can direct but cannot entirely control their actions. For me, this was
the clincher last time around. I’m used to RPGs that allow you to control
each character individually, and now that I’ve experienced the alternative,
complete control is what I prefer.

Having said that, the game is still fun. The
rush feature returns to double your battle speed, eliminating some of the
genre’s most annoying components, and controls battle actions automatically
at the same time. This increases the distance between the player and the
gameplay since you can put down the controller and walk away. But with other
automatic features employed, it’s not like this could be stopped. And just
because you can turn all the characters on autopilot doesn’t mean it’s a good
idea. I use it for the average dungeon beast and to kill time while waiting
for Aigis’ turn. But I’d never use it on a monster I hadn’t encountered
before.

Unlike the original quest, The Answer is
preset with a higher-than-average difficulty. The monsters are ruthless –
you’ll need to heal often and save your game frequently to continue
progressing.

In order to combat this increased challenge,
the game offers more Persona cards than the first. You’ll have the chance to
win them at the end of each battle along with various growth and currency
cards. Not surprisingly, the game reduces its kind gesture by enhancing the
difficulty of the card shuffle. In addition to the fast-moving shuffles,
they’ll also fly off the screen before stopping, preventing you from keeping
track of any particular card.

If you loved Persona 3’s gameplay, the new
content is a must-own affair. Despite my mixed opinions of the battle
system, I enjoyed Persona 3: FES more than the original. I liken the reason
to The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I enjoyed the first film, but it wasn’t
until I saw the second and third movies that the first storyline really
meant something to me. That’s exactly what happened with Persona 3.
Excluding a few awkward bits of dialogue, The Answer’s story is extremely
well done. The voice work is superb, and most of the character interactions
are very believable. It’ll make you want to go back and play through the
original all over again – even if you’re like me and would rather not
experience the battles a second time.

Velvet Revolver broke up after
getting kicked out of the Velvet Room. April Fools!

More, More, More

Most players will agree that the biggest draw
for Persona 3: FES is the new quest. But that’s not the only enhancement.
The original quest has also been tweaked with additional Personas, improved
Social Links and Persona interactions, a system that allows you to create
new weapons by fusing Personas, a bonus difficulty setting (“Hard”), and a
couple other extras.

If you have a save file from the original P3
disc, you’ll be able to transfer known fusion spell combinations, academic
charms and courage rankings, Personas registered in the compendium, and
items from Social Links that have reached their maximum level.

This quote reminds me of a
mission with Cloud Strife. (Note: The dialogue from this screen should not be used as a benchmark for the rest of the game.)

Love RPGs? Craving a great story? Got thirty
bucks? Persona 3: FES ships on April 22. The days may be getting longer and
warmer, but if you’re a fan of RPGs (mature RPGs – this game is not a
kiddie title), the enhanced edition of Persona 3 is not to be missed.

Difficulty: Medium/HardOne of the most brutal console RPGs. An “Easy” mode is included with The
Journey quest, for those of you seeking a more peaceful experience.

Concept: 8.4The gameplay is not as unique as it was in 2007. Metis has an interesting
feature that’ll become apparent as soon as you start playing. But even with the
enhancements, this is essentially Persona 3 all over again. So why the 8.4?
Because in the land of RPGs, an enjoyable and relevant storyline is imperative
in making the concept of the game come to life. That is something Persona 3: FES
does beautifully.

Overall: 8Persona 3: FES will increase your appreciation of its storyline. The
characters are great, the dialogue is believable (how’s THAT for an RPG!?), and
if you enjoyed the gameplay last year, there are several new reasons to play
through the original quest all over again.